The National Food Authority has started shipping out part of the 500,000 bags of rice intended to boost its stocks in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
NFA said the rice stocks will also be used in areas affected by the ongoing government military operations against the bandit group, Abu Sayyaf.
NFA officer-in-charge Tomas Escarez said the agency’s National Capital Region shipped 300,000 bags to Maguindanao and 200,00 bags to Zamboanga City.
The local office in Zamboanga City will distribute the rice shipment to Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Escarez assured that the givernment has sufficient rice stocks to avert any rice supply and price surges brought about by the intensified military operations in Southern Mindanao.
He added that the rice shipment will also be distributed by relief agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Developemnt and local government units to families displaced by the recent armed conflict.
To boost the country’s buffer stocks, the NFA Council approved the importation of additional 250,000 metric tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam under a government-to-government procurement scheme.